A Novel Approach to Moral and Civic Education using Indigenous Ways of Oral Storytelling

• In Event: Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Topic - Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Abstract

What does it mean to be a citizen? What does it mean to be part of a society? What are the responsibilities, roles, and rights of the citizens, especially if the person belongs to a marginalized Indigenous community? How does one become a “good” citizen? These questions are central to the field of civic and moral education, which prepares individuals with the skills and knowledge they need to be active and responsible participants in civic life. However, governments and education curriculum designers view civic education as a tool that can promote social cohesion and democratic practices, thereby promoting security, stability, and peace (Mburu, 2012). In Indigenous cultures, civic and moral education was and still is, conceptualized as that which promotes harmony among people and harmony nature, including all living beings and environment (Cheney, J. 2002). Whether Indigenous or otherwise, civic and moral education’s main objective is ideally to promote that which is good for all humanity. The question remains, is it possible, then, to combine conventional knowledge of civic and moral education and Indigenous ways of knowing to address injustices in today’s society? In this study, I explored how Indigenous communities use oral storytelling for moral education of children in three indigenous communities in Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh, b). As part of the study, 96 Indigenous students shared stories they collected by interviewing village elders and their grandparents. Sixteen of these stories were developed as storybooks, designed curriculum for discussion. The program was evaluated with 2,865 students of grade three to ten from 83 classrooms in 15 schools. Classrooms were randomly assigned to discussion and control conditions.
Findings from the study showed that students from the discussion group identified more moral or ethical lessons than students in comparison groups (sample response in Table 1). While students in the comparison group wrote 1 to 3 lessons they have learned, the discussion group students uncovered 6-10 values from the story. Classroom discussion mimics, in some way, Indigenous elders’ storytelling practices. During traditional storytelling events in villages where children from many homes gather around an elder (see Figure 1), the Indigenous elder would stop at different points of story and ask questions and engage children in discussions. Another feature of such storytelling is that Indigenous elders do not give away the moral of the story. It is expected that children explore the moral and share with others. Prompted by these types of questions, children enthusically share what they would do in certain situations. Children are not passive recipients of stories; they play a role in shaping the conversation during storytelling. Moreover, children not only respond expressing their thoughts, but also learn from listening to other children’s responses. In other words, through discussion the whole becomes more than sum of its parts. This highlights profound recognition that family and village elders are the first teachers of moral education and that educations begins long before formal schooling and is deeply rooted in the values and traditions, and norms of family and culture of Indigenous communities.

Author

• Maung Nyeu, New York University
  Presenting Author